Winemaker Notes
This wine has a generous nose of earth, subtle oak and spiced cocoa integrated with black fruits and very ripe cherry. A sweet, rich mouth feel begins with cassis and ripe black berry, leading towards chocolate and mocha. Soft, integrated tannins enhance the texture and give proportion; the finish is complex, generous, and long. While this wine can be enjoyed now it will definitely benefit from additional cellaring and, with proper storage, should develop for eight years or more.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Powerful and dense, this old-school cabernet is well made in a stylish, oak-driven mode, its plum flavor layered with tawny scents of vanillin and salted caramel. The finish is firm, the wine meant to be cellared. Give it several years, then serve with steak.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and ripe, with a green edge to the ripe plum and cherry flavors, lingering with deft balance on the firm-textured finish. Best after 2013.
Washington produces so many exciting wines, and that definitely includes Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. With over 10,000 acres under vine, Cabernet Sauvignon is now the most widely-grown varietal in the state. Terrific examples hail from sub-appellations like Red Mountain, Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills and Walla Walla Valley. One of the fascinations of these Columbia Valley Cabs is that they so often seem to have one foot in the New World and one in the Old. Representing the former are characteristics like the ripe, forward fruit that results from long sunny days during the growing season (up to two hours longer than in much of California). Old World similarities include an undeniable brightness from acidity, as well as notes of herbs, graphite and a dusty, sometimes gravelly minerality.
Whether you’re looking for a budget bottle for everyday enjoyment, or a stellar, world-class wine with tremendous aging potential, Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines can deliver the goods! Among the many fine options are bottles from Columbia Crest, Chateau Ste. Michelle, L’ecole #41, Quilceda Creek and Leonetti.